Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Doggy's Doghouse 10/29/19








                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
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Image result for ncaa

 The NCAA will now allow athletes to profit name, images and likeness 
I'll be honest. I really haven't had a chance to look into this at all. There are articles all over the place. But from what I understand, the NCAA is being forced into this by states, starting with California, allowing athletes  to get paid and hire a sports agent. They appear to be heading off any possible costly litigation.  

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Image result for the more things change
I love WCBB. It's five years since I started this blog and there are certain things I love writing about. Of course when UConn plays I always have a ton to say. The day before the game, the day of the game and the day after the game I am energized and get to share with you all some fun analysis with my twisted sense of humor. 

So, I will take what I can get in the pre-season and Tuesday night, the team i love to hate, the Tennessee Lady Vols, played their usual patsie, Carson-Newman in their first exhibition game of the pre-season. Tennessee gets to slap around the Fighting Eagles and send the poor delusional Lady Vol fans into a frenzy.  After all, the last 7 seasons Tennessee won 128-59, 121-76, 95-56, 101-59, 90-57, 113-31, and 104-44. That 113-31 was a barn burner!

So, with an average win of 107-54, I'm sure the denizens of the Orange World had visions of a similar score after a big 26-9 first quarter. Then a funny thing happened. A basketball game broke out. No, the game was never in doubt, but after an absolutely putrid 10-4 second quarter, you just knew the crazies from Delusion County were in for a sad wake up call for what this season might bring.

Carson-Newman actually outscored Tennessee in the third quarter 18-16 and was only outscore 18-13 in the final quarter. for a 70-44 win for the Lady Vols. I'm sure the most optimistic fan will look at the stats for the Fighting Eagles and say "wow, Tennessee played some great defense". And they did hold them to 29% from the field and 26% on threes. But that was to be expected. Tennessee is bigger and faster at every position over the smaller and slower. They SHOULD dominate defensively. 

It was the Tennessee offense that really should be cause for concern. Generally, the offensive stats are just that. Offensive. Their ball movement was suspect and their shooting was very similar to last season only worse. They shot 35% from the field going 28-79 and were only 2-15 on threes. They only had 6 assists on their 28 basket, with most hoops coming on their 25 offensive rebounds where they used their size to play volleyball off backboard to score over the smaller Fighting Eagles. The had 25 second chance points to ZERO for Carson-Newman.

Individually, only returning forwards Davis and Burrell stood out. Davis had 20 points and had the only 3 pointers for the team. Burrell was really active with 15 points and 9 rebounds. The freshman Horston, who was the No. 2 player in the 2019 class was 0-5 on threes but was active with 4 steals. The Aussie marksman Rennie was 0-4 on threes.      

Of course, winning by 60 and scoring 100+ points or playing like they did in this game, it's still only one game and I suppose we shouldn't take much from this game. Maybe when they trim down the rotation to a manageable 7-9 players, there will be more continuity. Or not. The pressure is on Coach Kellie Jolly Harper to get them to play as a team with a bunch of new players. You know I'll be watching!         

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Three point shooting is very important to Geno and the Huskies. Making the opposing defense guard players out at the 3 point arc opens up the lane for inside scorers. Having players who can make 3 point shots and also post up in the lane really taxes the defense. How will UConn's 3 point shooting do this season after the graduation of Katie Lou and Pheesa? Consider the total made 3 point shots in the last 7 seasons:

2018-19    303 threes
2017-18    302 threes
2016-17    302 threes
2015-16    295 threes
2014-15    330 threes
2013-14    295 threes
2012-13    325 threes

Katie Lou led the Huskies in made 3 point shots each of the last three season. She was not, however, the most accurate three-point shot her senior or sophomore seasons. Last year, she made 37.6% of her threes. Megan Walker beat that with 39.7% accuracy. Lou's sophomore season she made 42% of her threes, but was bested by Kia Nurse's 46.2%.

This year's team keeps the 1st, 3rd and 4th most accurate three-point shooters from last year. (Megan, Christyn and Crystal) They add Evina and Anna, both reported to be very good 3 point gunners. Given the historical pattern, I predict 303 three point baskets this season. 8-)

Go Huskies..!!

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OU women's basketball: What Sherri Coale, Sooners said 
Preparing for life after UConn: What to expect in the AAC after UConn
Ionescu returns to Oregon for final season to chase title 


Statistical Sites

National Statistics 

Rankings and RPI Sites

 Realtime Daily RPI
Massey Rankings and Matchups
Jeff Sagarin Basketball Ratings 
NCAA D1Women's RPI
ESPN AP and Coaches Poll
ESPN Conference Standings

Warren Nolan RPI and SOS 

Message Boards

UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!! 
College Fans Only - WCBB board where no holds are barred
Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
CockyTalk - The upstart South Carolina women's basketball board 
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else



Videos

UConn Women replays


UCONN Information


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I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:

doggydaddy.UConn@gmail.com

better teams. i dont agree same to me... every team in the big east has a crazy losing record against uconn.. just like the AAC geno even said as must
Posted by at 1 comment:

Monday, October 28, 2019

Doggy's Doghouse 10/28/19








                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
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 Evina Westbrook

So far, I have written about three of the new additions to the team, Evelyn Adebayo, Aubrey Griffin and Anna Makurat. The last new addition is Evina Westbrook, the 6' guard who transferred from Tennessee to UConn after the 2018-19 season. 

We still don't know if her waiver request will allow her to play this season. I really wanted to wait until we knew before I wrote about her. But I figured that whether or not she plays this year, I should share what I can for your enjoyment!

It's almost surreal that I would be even contemplate Westbrook being on the UConn roster. Two years of watching her play for my least favorite women's basketball team, Tennessee, has on some level, tainted my opinion of her. I'm sure I could find blog entry after blog entry where I trash the play of this young woman. Now I am going to tell you all the good things about her, now that she is a member of the UConn team. Yeah, pretty homeristic of me, huh. I guess this is the true test for me that I really mean it when I say I will root for anyone that wears the UConn uniform!

Ok, enough of that. On to interviews and highlights!

   









Evina is really talented. She was ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in her HS class sharing that honor with Megan Walker, now her UConn teammate. As you can see in the action videos, she has an incredible handle and a sweet outside shot. She also has terrific court vision. Unfortunately for her, while on the Tennessee team, she was just not coached up. The schemes in that offense were to put it kindly, crap. It's hard for a player to excel when they in that kind of toxic environment. 

I expect some great things from Westbrook, whether it's this year or next. UConn fans will love watching her play and I will enjoy watching her stick it to the Tennessee fans!!!   

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 Image result for readers comments

I really love when readers of my blog send me comments on what I wrote. I usually just reply directly to them, but sometimes I like to bring their comment here and reply for everyone to see.

One reader sent me this comment on my post talking about the move to the Big East .  - "better teams? i dont agree same to me... every team in the big east has a crazy losing record against uconn.. just like the AAC.  Geno even said as much". 

I do understand his point. UConn pretty much owned the Big East except for two timeframes. The first was when Rutgers was loaded with players and they actually beat UConn 3 out of 4 and 5 out of 8 from 2005-2008. The other was the Skylar Diggs era where Notre Dame beat UConn 7 out of 8 games from 2011-2013. Otherwise, yes UConn dominated the Big East.

However, there is more to it than that. Based on RPI, there is no doubt that the current Big East is better than the current AAC if you take UConn out of the equation. Looking at last years RPI, the American Conference was the 9th ranked RPI and that included having UConn in the conference. The Big East was the 6th ranked RPI and that is without UConn in the conference.

I could do some simple math to see how the Big East would rank with UConn in the conference, but it would include the improved RPI's for the Big East teams if they all played UConn twice a year. And removing UConn from the AAC makes them just a terrible conference.

So yes, my friend. UConn will be playing better teams, even if UConn beats them all.     

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Next Sunday, UConn plays their first game of the 2019-20 season against Jefferson. (the college, not MoJeff) That should settle the 5th starter debate once and for all, right?  Probably not. Their are still too many questions for that announcement to settle the issue. For example, the eligibility of Evina Westbrook is still pending. The NCAA ruling may come after next Sunday. Even then, if eligible, is she 100% healthy? Those two factors make me think she will sit out Sunday's game. So who starts:

1. Evelyn Adebayo - Big strong body, rebounding force with good moves around the basket on offense. Grad student, mature.. replaces some of what Pheesa did. Playing the 4 gives Megan room to move over to the 3.
2. Kyla Irwin or Batouly Camara - Both 6'2" forwards who know the system. If healthy, Camara was a starter at Kentucky. Irwin is steady, but not spectacular. Picking either one won't hurt against Jefferson...
3. Anna Makurat - the Polish Rifle could replace Katie Lou's 3 point shooting, big 6'1" guard who can rebound, but not run terribly fast. Played professionally, so won't be overly nervous in a college exhibition game.
4. Aubrey Griffin - The opposite of Anna. Uber athletic, can jump out of the building and is very fast. How quickly has she picked up the offense and defensive systems?

My guess is Evelyn, but Geno will mix and match early in the season to get a good balance. One thing for sure, the bench starts out deeper than it has been in a while..!!

Go Huskies..!!

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Here's how the Pac-12 women's basketball race will shake out in 2019-20


Statistical Sites

National Statistics 

Rankings and RPI Sites

 Realtime Daily RPI
Massey Rankings and Matchups
Jeff Sagarin Basketball Ratings 
NCAA D1Women's RPI
ESPN AP and Coaches Poll
ESPN Conference Standings

Warren Nolan RPI and SOS 

Message Boards

UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!! 
College Fans Only - WCBB board where no holds are barred
Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
CockyTalk - The upstart South Carolina women's basketball board 
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else



Videos

UConn Women replays


UCONN Information


*********************  
I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:

doggydaddy.UConn@gmail.com

better teams. i dont agree same to me... every team in the big east has a crazy losing record against uconn.. just like the AAC geno even said as must
Posted by at 2 comments:
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